Mock disaster offers training to public safety personnel

Sunday

Sep 23, 2012 at 10:52 PMSep 23, 2012 at 10:52 PM

By Nicole Dominique

nicole.dominique@hillsdale.netHILLSDALE — It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when disaster struck at the fairgrounds — a staged, preparatory mock disaster, that is.The "disaster" was a drill to prepare different public safety departments for a situation they don't see every day."The (type of) disaster doesn't matter," said Hillsdale County Emergency Management Director Doug Sanford said. "It's the practice that matters."This disaster was a shooting at the grandstands during a big event. A lot of people were hurt, and the shooter had taken hostages.The Hillsdale County Sheriff's Department (HCSD) was the first on the scene, investigating before sending in emergency medical technicians.Most of the disaster victim volunteers were local youth, some from the Hillsdale Workforce Development and Technology Center.The drill was initially scheduled in August, but scheduling conflicts pushed it to exactly a week before the fair begins.Sanford said the date made it a bit more difficult, with vendors setting up for the next week, but "it adds a bit of realism."